Covenant, King’s Men, Gridiron and More Fall Previews

Sony’s Fall slate of films includes a good mix of the Oscar-bait, including the much-anticipated All the King’s Men, which was written and directed by Academy Award winner Steven Zaillian, the horror, including The Covenant and The Grdge 2, which is a sequel to the 2004 hit, the inspirational, including The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith, and Gridiron Gang, recalling the true life story of a detention camp probation officer that turns a group of hard core teenage felons into a high school football dream team, and the comedy, including The Holiday and Running With Scissors. Below are complete stats for all of the fall movies on Sony’s release schedule, including full synopses, stars, filmmakers, trailers and much more.

THE COVENANT
Release Date: September 8, 2006
Genre: Horror/Thriller

In 1692, in the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts, five families with untold power formed a covenant of silence. One family, lusting for more, was banished – their bloodline disappearing without a trace. Until now.

Directed by Renny Harlin and written by J.S. Cardone, The Covenant tells the story of the Sons of Ipswich, four young students at the elite Spencer Academy who are bound by their sacred ancestry. As descendants of the original families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the 1600’s, the boys have all been born with special powers. When the body of a dead student is discovered after a party, secrets begin to unravel which threaten to break the covenant of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of years. 

Directed by: Renny Harlin

Written by: J. S Cardone

Cast: Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas, Chace Crawford and Wendy Crewson

GRIDIRON GANG
Release Date: September 15, 2006
Genre: Drama

Columbia Pictures’ Gridiron Gang tells the gritty and powerfully emotional story of juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), who, along with another officer, Malcolm Moore (Xzibit), turns a group of hard core teenage felons into a high school football team in four weeks.*Confronted with gang rivalries and bitter hatred between his teammates, Porter teaches some hard lessons (and learns a few himself) as the kids gain a sense of self-respect and responsibility.

In a world where 75% of these juvenile inmates return to prison or meet with violent ends on the streets, Porter and Moore face seemingly insurmountable barriers. No one wants to compete against convicted criminals, but through relentless pursuit and a jolt of inspiration, Porter and his team fight their way to redemption and a second chance.

Based on a true story, Gridiron Gang sends out a message that one man can make a difference and the most hopeless kids in our society can change the course of their lives through hard work, commitment and bold leadership.

Based on the documentary film Gridiron Gang.

Directed by: Phil Joanou

Written by: Jeff Maguire

Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Xzibit, Kevin Dunn and Leon Rippy

Watch the trailer for The Gridiron Gang RIGHT HERE

ALL THE KING’S MEN
Release Date: September 22, 2006
Genre: Drama

Based on Robert Penn Warren’s 1946 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, All the King’s Men tells the story of an idealist’s rise to power in the world of Louisiana politics and the corruption that leads to his ultimate downfall.

With a screenplay written by the film’s director Steven Zaillian, who received an Academy Award for his adaptation of Schindler’s List, All The King’s Menfeatures an all-star cast including Academy Award winner Sean Penn (Mystic River), Jude Law (Closer), Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland), James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April) and Academy Award winnerAnthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs). 

Written for the Screen and Directed by: Steven Zaillian

Based on the book by: Robert Penn Warren

Cast: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Anthony Hopkins

Watch the trialer for All The King’s Men RIGHT HERE

OPEN SEASON
Release Date: September 29, 2006
Genre: Feature Animated Comedy

Columbia Pictures Presents Sony Pictures Animation’s first full-length feature film, the animated action-adventure comedy Open Season, in which Boog (Martin Lawrence), a grizzly bear with no survival skills, has his perfect world turned upside-down when he meets Elliot (Ashton Kutcher), a scrawny, fast-talking wild mule deer. When Elliot convinces Boog to desert his idyllic existence living in a garage decked out with all the comforts of home, and try the “wild” life, things quickly spiral out of control. With open season upon them, and the hunters arriving in force, Elliot must help Boog get in touch with his inner grizzly to unite the woodland creatures and take the forest back!

Open Season is based on the humor of cartoonist Steve Moore (In the Bleachers) who, along with John Carls, serves as executive producer. The film is directed by Roger Allers (director of The Lion King) and Jill Culton (Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2) and co-directed by Anthony Stacchi (Antz).

Directed by: Roger Allers and Jill Culton

Co-directed by: Anthony Stacchi

Screenplay by: Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman and Nat Mauldin 

Screen Story by: Jill Culton and Anthony Stacchi

From an Original story by: Steve Moore and John Carls

Cast: (voices) Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise and Debra Messing

Watch the trailer for Open Season RIGHT HERE

THE GRUDGE 2
Release Date: October 13, 2006
Genre: Horror/Thriller

From Columbia Pictures and Ghost House Pictures comes the much-anticipated sequel to the 2004 worldwide hit The Grudge. The terrifying thriller The Grudge 2 explores the dark secrets of the grudge as the terrifying supernatural curse is unleashed on a group of seemingly unrelated victims. One by one, they are infected by the grudge, which quickly moves from a burned-down house in Tokyo and spreads to everyone who crosses its path. 

The Grudge 2 stars Amber Tamblyn under the direction of Takashi Shimizu, from an original screenplay by Stephen Susco.

Directed by: Takashi Shimizu

Written by: Stephen Susco

Based on Characters Created by: Takashi Shimizu

Cast: Amber Tamblyn, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Edison Chen, Arielle Kebbel, Jennifer Beals, Sarah Roemer, Takako Fuji, Matthew Knight, Misako Uno, Teresa Palmer and Ohga Tanaka

Visit the website for The Grudge 2 RIGHT HERE

MARIE ANTOINETTE
Release Date: October 20, 2006
Genre: Historical Drama

Oscar-winner Sofia Coppola brings to the screen an imaginative interpretation of the life of France’s legendary teenage queen Marie Antoinette. When betrothed to King Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), the naïve Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) enters the opulent French court which is steeped in conspiracy and scandal. Without guidance, adrift in a dangerous world, the young girl rebels against the isolated atmosphere at Versailles and becomes France’s most misunderstood monarch.

Written and Directed by: Sofia Coppola

Based on the book Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston andSteve Coogan

View the trailer for Marie Antoinette RIGHT HERE

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS
Release Date: October 27, 2006 
Genre: Comedy/Drama

Running With Scissors is the hilarious and poignant feature film based on the personal memoirs of Augusten Burroughs. Growing up in the 1970’s, young Augusten (Joseph Cross) was living a middle-class existence with an alcoholic father (Alec Baldwin) and a bipolar mother (Annette Bening), an unpublished poet with delusions of becoming famous. When his parents divorce, Augusten’s mother sends him to live with her wildly unorthodox psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) and his eccentric extended family. Running With Scissors chronicles Augusten’s survival under the most extraordinary of circumstances.

Written for the Screen, Produced and Directed by: Ryan Murphy

Based on the Personal Memoirs of: Augusten Burroughs

Cast: Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh and Joseph Cross.

View the trailer for Running With Scissors at the following links:
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STRANGER THAN FICTION
Release Date: November 10, 2006
Genre: Comedy

Columbia Pictures and Mandate Pictures’ Stranger Than Fiction is an inventive comedy about a novelist (Emma Thompson) struggling to complete her latest, and potentially finest, book – she only has to find a way to kill off her main character, Harold Crick, and she’ll be done. Little does she know that Harold Crick(Will Ferrell) is inexplicably alive and well in the real world and suddenly aware of her words. Fiction and reality collide when the bewildered and hilariously resistant Harold hears what she has in mind and realizes he must find a way to change her (and his) ending.

Directed by: Marc Forster

Written by: Zach Helm

Cast: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson

Visit the website for Stranger Than Fiction RIGHT HERE

THE HOLIDAY
Release Date: December 8, 2006
Genre: Romantic Comedy

In writer and director Nancy Meyers’ (Something’s Gotta Give, What Women Want) The Holiday, two women on opposite sides of the globe, Amanda Woods(Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) find themselves in a similar predicament. Desperate for a change of scenery, the two women meet on the internet and swap houses for the Christmas holiday discovering that a change of address really can change your life.

Written and Directed by: Nancy Meyers

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell

View the trailer for The Holiday RIGHT HERE

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Release Date: December 15, 2006
Genre: Drama

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it… If you want something, go get it. Period.”

In Columbia Pictures’ The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a bright and talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them.

Directed by: Gabriele Muccino

Written by: Steven Conrad

Cast: Will Smith, Thandie Newton and Jaden Smith

The Pursuit of Happyness is curently in test screenings. As soon as I get trailer information, I will post it.